I have been crazy about plastic models of German Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFV) since primary three. But I loved the small plastic German soldiers even more, in particular their uniform and equipment variations. It was every boy’s dream to own a German WW2 helmet (the predecessor to the modern PASGT shaped helmet). In 1997, I mustered enough courage to order one for US$24.95 from USA. It was cheap at that time, but the shipping costs swelled the final figure to US$70!

When it arrived, I picked it out from the box, and immediately referenced it to a picture of one from a WW2 equipment book. The rivets, liner and paint scheme was wrong! I realized that this is a WW2 type helmet, more commonly known as a “Spanish helmet”. It was also from this that I discovered the numerous fraudulent dealers worldwide. I also learnt how to distinguish the real McCoys from pathetic phoneys over time. This was just the beginning of the build-up of such knowledge, accumulated over the next eleven years of militaria collecting.

After extensive hours spent online researching, I discovered there was a phenomenon known as “re-enactment societies”.[i] There were numerous groups based in the US and UK portraying Axis and Allied soldiers, who would congregate and “battle” it out over a weekend. Some of these guys own stuff from blank firing machine guns, to even restored Tiger tanks! Impressive! I pondered of the feasibility of establishing one here in Singapore, to “recruit” my own soldiers too.

However, I was low on financial aid. In addition, I was a one-man army! I created a unit website to seek like-minded people, and contacted many overseas re-enactment groups for advice on their unit’s “best practices”. One such example was that unit members had to acquire a basic impression to be “promoted”. We implemented these criteria and others such as combat awards, specialized impressions for members.

Now, it seemed that I might be running a small army. After all, along the way, I’d met many Singaporeans said they were WW2 fanatics and regurgitated plenty of historical and tactical knowledge. But when I asked if they were able to purchase a US$250 tunic for a start, they cited great financial distress and other excuses. Like-minded people does not equate to committed ones. Eventually, a teen named Andreas contacted me, and said he was interested to join the group. That was a good start!

Together we sourced for more potential recruits to join the ranks. We managed to get a dozen committed individuals by 2002. By now, we‘d also built up rapport with overseas re-enactment groups and military vendors that supported us in the formation of a re-enactment society here.

We did receive flak from several American re-enactors, stating that Asians re-enacting as German soldiers was totally anachronistic, or rather, unrealistic. Undaunted, I did in-depth research and found out there were indeed Asians (Koreans, Japanese, etc) serving in German ranks in Normandy. We modelled our German group as an OstBattalion (Eastern-Battalion) to grab this authenticity.

But now even more teething problems surfaced. Uniforms and gear can only be obtained from abroad. It is illegal to import weapons and ordnance, with even replicas not allowed into Singapore. (Yes, it was simply a no-no).

What is the use of weapon-less soldiers? Literature on uniforms and gear was bare minimum too. I remembered staying long hours at Borders and Kinokuniya to overcome that. Also, there was limited land space to gather as a group for meetings. It dawned on me that overseas groups had more free play, and that WW2 re-enacting there was more established. I had to localize these constraints to suit our Singapore group. I had to look for other avenues.

I figured that pitching the idea of doing public displays at museums would be a good idea. We spoke to National Heritage Board (NHB). The latter said that German soldiers are not related to Singapore’s history. A dead end even before we start? Nope, we branched out to understand and collect both Japanese and British militaria.

We chose “Syonan Reflections” as our second group name, to indicate that we are preserving and sharing military history in retrospect. We encouraged members to reflect on Singapore’s past, when it was “Syonan-to”. Our group recreated the original 5th Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army. This division was significant as it was the one of the first divisions to set foot on Singapore soil at Sarimbun on 8 Feburary 1942.

NHB finally gave us the approval to do a public display at Reflections at Bukit Chandu on Total Defence Day, on 15 February 2004. We only had enough materials for a one-man display. But Dr. Lee Boon Yang graced my small booth and several members of the public also commented that such a display should have been done ages ago too! This caught the media’s attention, and I was featured on Channel News Asia (CNA) wearing some Japanese gear!

In early 2005, we gave our first assembly talks at schools on Total Defence and Singapore’s wartime heroes, complemented with our ever expanding display. We now have uniforms and kit to re-create multiple impressions of the average Japanese and British infantryman, on how he lived and ate in the field, right down to his personal life, with displays of original photos, letters and identity booklets. We also showed visitors and students the proper method of wear of uniforms and kit.

This year, we’ve even participated in the Heritagefest 2007. We give talks, and we get invited to presentations. We get asked for advice by filmmakers and playwrights for military and technical information.

We have come a long way from a one-man display, to being a professional group effort. We understand that there is a number of Singaporeans who collect militaria, but prefer to remain quiet. However, we chose to make full use of our knowledge, to advocate for effective public education. And while most young adults choose to understand WW2 history, through means of plastic modelling, war games, reading, etc, we chose to re-live it and to be part of it.

Not bad for a bunch of non-history students, who had started out with a one-man army!

Alvin Lee Jun Ming is the founder of Syonan Reflections and OstBattalion’43. To find out more about the groups’ public education services, you can contact Alvin at alvinlee_81@yahoo.com.

[i] There are many different re-enacting eras besides WW2. There are societies doing medieval, American Civil War, WW1, Vietnam war and even the Gulf War.<

“Excuse me. Where did you get this uniform from?” This is perhaps the most asked question we get. Nope. We are not a vendor at Beach Road’s buzzing army market. We are a sub-culture of collectors of original and reproduction World War Two militaria

If the word “militaria” is new to your ears, then both “Living history” and “Re-enactors” would be as well. But that’s what we are.

We’re not quite the same as the overseas re-enactor groups. We do not just re-enact battles, but also conduct professional public education. That’s the “Living history” part, where we make history come alive for present-day people.

We take immense pride in our hobby, and we only use the most authentic reproductions to make up our collection. We do have a fair share of original items too. We do things differently from movies and museums. Unlike mainstream media with their depictions of stereotypical Japanese and British soldiers, we aspire to share with others the more rare and obscure impressions. How often have you seen a Japanese pilot’s uniform and kit? Or those of a tank crewman? Or even a Japanese paratrooper? These artefacts tell stories by themselves! And yes, we do have such materials in our possession.

But our strongest selling point is that we are perhaps the first group, to provide a detailed visual representation of the British and Japanese soldier in full gear during the Singapore campaign, to all who wish to see. Furthermore, since we own this equipment, we allow visitors to have an up close and personal experience by handling the items. They can now feel the weight of a Japanese or British helmet. This is something museums restrict, and we are here to breach that barrier.

Of course, research is of paramount importance in the group. We look into the tiniest details such as manufacturer markings, cloth materials, foot and weapons drills, combat rations, soldier’s pay, and battle tactics. The list is endless. Because of this, we are now looking to be historical and technical advisors for skits and movie productions. We aspire be as authentic and accurate as Letters from Iwo Jima, in terms of deriving the “looks” of a Japanese soldier. This is important as people can be heavily and quickly influenced by visual images.

All is not just work. The group meets up regularly to “chit chat” about their latest findings, whether to share information on a vendor sale or the latest reference book. We still adopt Singaporean’s mentality to obtain stuff “cheap and good”, but with one more crucial criteria, “accurate”.

Our band of brothers has evolved into a niche market. Under the label of National Education, we are now occasionally invited to do displays, give talks and perform skits. We are extremely proud that we are recognized in the eyes of many, and to contribute greatly to Singapore’s history and heritage. In fact, we just did a skit for HeritageFest 2007 and will be doing a display at Suntec City this coming August, upon the invitation of Nexus (the central co-ordinating agency for National Education in Singapore). How’s that for a group mostly made up of non-history students!

Alvin Lee Jun Ming is the founder of Syonan Reflections and OstBattalion’43. To find out more about the groups’ public education services, you can contact Alvin at alvinlee_81@yahoo.com.